The Bible is deep. 

Forget about "mastering" the New Testament; forget about mastering a particular book of it.  Forget about "mastering" Peter's explanation of a "living hope" (?) in 1 Peter 1:3-9. 

Let's see if we can comprehend the first phrase in Peter's seven-verse sermon:

Blessed be the Father ...

Yep.  Inside 3-4 words, Peter has lost me already.  Do you get that?  Really get why he talks like that?  I don't. 

If you're a Christian, when is the last time ... Monday?  Last week?  Last month? ... that you said "Blessed be the Father" and said it spontaneously, emotionally?  For me, the last time would be never.

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The apostles had a weird habit.  They'd be discussing justification, or mercy, or hope, and they would say the name "God" or the name "Jesus Christ" and BOOM.  They'd spin off into a tangent of euphoria about God.   Titus 2:13-14 is an example of this, as is Rom. 9:5.  But you can find dozens of examples.

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You know what the word Toxin has in common with Intoxication?  When a human being drinks enough alcohol, the toxins in the blood create an immune response.  As the blood, and brain, rally to process the poison, the brain diverts energy from the lower-priority functions, like judgment and rational thought.  This allows the brain to maintain higher-priority functions, like breathing and walking.  Zombieland, indeed.

But there is a pleasantness to deactivating the adult portion of our minds, which is why people do get drunk.   When we're left with emotions only, it's kind of a fun sensation.

The Song of Solomon tells us all about the childish euphoria of romantic love.  It's another way in which our intellect disengages, and our emotions take over.  It's fun!

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The apostles would hit the name of God or the name of Jesus, and their intellects would disengage.  Emotions and euphoria would take over, spontaneously and naturally.  

This is a minor one of the many reasons that I, as an ex-Bible cynic, believe the Bible.  This spontaneous euphoria isn't an embedded, faked, phenomenon.  It's part of that "ring of truth" that surprises the new investigator.

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The three great virtues, says 1 Cor. 13, are Faith, Hope, and Love.

Paul was chosen as the apostle of Faith.  Rom. 1:16-17 is thematic in his teaching. 

He spoke of all three virtues, of course, but he was uniquely fit to explain the joy of Faith.  He'd made the greatest efforts to excel on his own merits -- a Pharisee of Pharisees, physically battling his enemies, studying the law furiously, well-educated, very conscientious.  When the doctrine of free (but conditional) grace came along, it was as sweet as honey to him.

John was the apostle of love.  He was around for 30 years longer than any other apostle; maybe he just grew into it.  1 John 4:8 is thematic:  He that loves not knows not God, for God -is- love.

Peter was the apostle of hope.  The entire epistle of 1 Peter is about that hope.   He was the one who sunk the farthest when Jesus was crucified, facing a terrifying three days, a week, a month in which he thought he was going back to his fishing nets a defeated fool.  The ecstasy of the Resurrection held a sharp poignancy for one who had sunk into such despair.

They all shared one habit.  They would hear the name of Jesus -- even off their own lips -- and smile beatifically.

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You and I don't say "blessed be the Father," but Peter does.  You know what the difference is?  1 Pet. 1:8-9 -- they had seen Jesus Christ.

If you had ever spent an afternoon with Jesus of Nazareth, you'd engage more of your heart and less of your head, too.

Warm regards,

Jeff